Air Force, Navy, coast guard help boaters in distress off Texada Island

A large land and sea rescue operation successfully rescued two people on an 18-foot boat in rough waters near Texada Island on Monday.

On July 20 the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Victoria received a 911 call about the boaters, reported 19 Wing Public Affairs Officer Captain Trevor Reid.

A CC-115 Buffalo aircraft was launched from 19 Wing Comox to assist in quickly pinpointing the boat, which they did shortly before 2 p.m.

“We located the boat in distress on the southern tip of Texada Island and dropped smoke markers to help other rescue vessels distinguish it from other boats in the area,” Lieutenant Stephan Germaine, CC-115 Buffalo navigator said, according to Reid.

Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy vessels were then able to reach the boat, with the three agencies remaining in close radio communication.

“The Buffalo crew remained overhead and in radio communication with rescue vessels until the two boaters were transported to safety in French Creek by members of the Canadian Coast Guard’s Cape Cockburn,” Reid said.

19 Wing’s 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron is the main aviation search and rescue unit in the Victoria Search and Rescue Region which includes 920,000 square kilometres of mainly mountainous terrain across B.C. and Yukon, about the size of Egypt or Pakistan. They cover an area extending 965 kilometres into the Pacific Ocean with a cormorant helicopter and the Buffalo.